TMNT and Jo--A Broken Bond
by BBPRIMEFAN101
Summary: It's clear to everyone's eyes that Raph and Joey are as thick as thieves, always willing to fight for one another. But when they have a fight of their own and Joey runs off, she ends up kidnapped by the Kraang and is experimented on, under Shredder's orders. The next time she reunites with the turtles, she is a completely different person.
1. Chapter 1

~9 years ago~

Hamato Yoshi awoke to absolute silence. Not a single sound was hear within his home in the sewers of New York. No voices could be made out throughout the rooms, only slight snoring. The humanoid rat felt the warmth of the sun creep through the gutters above and beam down upon him, seeping through his fur and onto his skin. He moaned and raised his head from his pillow, supporting himself on one elbow. He pushed a mass of blankets off of his body down to his legs and sat up. Yoshi rubbed his eyes and yawned, then gazed to his left. He reached over, gripped the trim of a blanket, and gently pulled it down to reveal a sleeping two-and-a-half-year-old human girl.

Yoshi smiled at the sleeping toddler. She was facing towards him, her body arched and curled inward; her dark brown hair was all matted up where she laid her head on a pillow, her freckles were hardly noticeable in the glare of the sun's light, her tiny arms were coiled around the body of a stuffed bear, and she breathed slowly and silently. She wore a very large jersey with the number 84 on it, which she had received as a gift from her oldest brother on their last birthday. The jersey went down to her ankles, so she would be able to wear it without any pants underneath for a while. Under her closed eye lids were a pair of glistening teal-blue eyes that no one on earth could say no to.

Yoshi gently ruffled her hair and looked at the clock that hung on the wall. The time read 8:29 A.M. One minute short of his children's usual waking time. He was sure the minute would pass once he got each of his kids up and out of bed. He got onto his knees and rested a hand on the little one's shoulder, gently shaking her. "Josephine," he whispered. "It is time to awaken." A faint moan came from the girl and she stirred, but did not open her eyes. "Come, Josephine," he told her. "Time to get up." He shook her a bit harder. Another moan erupted in the tot's throat and she stirred again. The tiny girl named Josephine then came to her senses as she emerged from deep sleep and slowly opened her eyes.

Josephine raised her gaze up at the humanoid rodent and smiled. "Daddy..." she said softly.

Yoshi grinned and helped the girl sit up. "Good morning, my daughter," he told her as she rubbed her eyes with her knuckles and yawned. "Did you sleep well last night?" Josephine nodded. "Did you have good dreams?" The toddler beamed a smile and nodded eagerly. "Would you like to tell me about it?"

Josephine nodded again. "I dream we training," she began, making every 'r' in every word sound like a 'w', "then a bad guy come, he smash house. Then you, Daddy, jump in and you fight. WHAM! POW! HIYA!" She swung her fists and spun on her heels, losing balance and then falling on her bottom, making her father laugh. She giggled and continued, "Then bad guy scared, really scared. You tell him 'Go 'way, never come back' and he never come back! Daddy save day! Then we all had cookie and then nap time. The End."

"My, that was a marvelous dream, Josephine," Yoshi said, poking her in her stomach and making her giggle. His ears twitched as the clock chimed, indicating it was now 8:30 in the morning. "Well now, I believe now it is time to awaken your brothers. Would you like to help me?" Joey smiled and nodded. "Very well. You go awake two, and I will awake to, though I think I already know which two you will choose." He patted her head and she skipped out of the room, and he followed behind.

Josephine stopped at the entrance of a door with the letter 'D' on it and smiled. She slowly turned the handle and pulled the door open, letting a ray of light into the room. It spread to every corner of the room, including the bed in the furthest corner. Josephine merrily skipped to it and stopped at the edge of the bed, her chin being up to the top of the mattress, getting a good look at who was sleeping in it. She slowly pulled down the covers to reveal one of her seven-year-old older brothers. But they weren't like any other brothers. He and her three other brothers were different. As in, non-human, like Yoshi. Only they weren't rats. They were turtles. Real turtles with real shells and all. They each have only two fingers and a thumb, and three toes on each foot. They were turtles, but were also human.

The slumbering turtle she giggled at was named Donatello. He had pale, yellow-green skin, red-brown eyes, and a gap between his front teeth; he was a very precocious child, much like Josephine when she was real little. He loved to read, experiment with things. He enjoyed tinkering and taking things apart to see how they work. Josephine didn't absorb his love for technology, but did inherit his interests in sciences. Her other brothers often tease him about his passion for learning, but she respected and admired it. She had a bond with Donatello, or Donnie as she and her other brothers call him. Josephine remembered all the times he would read or sing to her every time she had a nightmare and was in tears or to help her sleep; she would always go to him if Yoshi wasn't around to comfort her. In other words, she and Donnie were very close.

Josephine tapped her finger on his snout, and all she got from him was a moan. She tapped him again, a bit firmer this time, and he flinched. Donnie lifted his heavy lids to reveal a set of red-brown eyes. When his vision cleared and went into focus, he noticed his human baby sister standing at the edge of his bed, smiling at him. He sleepily smiled back and sat up stretching his arms with a yawn. "Yes, Joey?" he asked groggily. Joey was one of the few nicknames her brothers had given her because either her full name was too long or the nicknames were much better.

Joey took the turtle's hand in one of her own and tugged, pointing out the door with her other. "Daddy say it time to get up. It time," she said, pulling at his arm. "Get up. Get up."

Donnie laughed as his two-year-old led him out of bed and into the hall where the boys shared rooms. They saw that their oldest brother, Leonardo, was standing in the middle of the hallway, watching their father enter the room next to his. Leonardo, or his siblings called him Leo, was a very responsible child, he did exactly what he's told when told to do it; he looks after his brothers and sister and takes care of them, and is loyal to his father and admires him, hoping to be like him one day. Leo had watery-blue eyes that always begged for their father's attention and approval, and when he got it he had the biggest smile on his face the world had ever seen. And even though her brothers were all seven years old, Leo was deemed the oldest because of his mature behavior. Donnie was figured to be the third youngest because of his timidness.

"Morning, Leo," Donnie said as Joey dragged him into the hall.

Leo turned to him and chuckled. "I see you got dragged out of bed." He walked over to his brother and hugged him. "Morning, Donnie." Then he bent down to Joey's height and hugged her. "Morning, Jo." This was another nickname given to her.

"Mornin', Leo," Joey beamed a smile, saying the 'L' with a 'w' sound. They turned around when they saw their father exit a room carrying something in his arms wrapped in an orange blanket. He sat what he held on the ground with the two boys and girl tot, and it rubbed its eyes and yawned. "Mikey!" she exclaimed. What stood in the orange blanket was her youngest older brother, Michelangelo, or Mikey his siblings call him. He rubbed the sleepiness out of his bright, baby-blue eyes and yawned again, stretching his freckled cheeks, revealing a set of top and bottom teeth with one missing on top. Mikey was deemed the youngest of the brothers because of his childishness and immaturity, which would kick in any minute now. Joey skipped to her brother in the blanket and wrapped her arms around his shell. "Mikey!" she said with a giggle.

"Hiya, Jo-Jo!" Mikey said, grabbing his sister under her arms then lifted her up in the air, spinning around. "Whee!" he exclaimed, flying her like an airplane. Josephine squealed happily and giggled as Mikey lowered her down and hugged her tightly.

"Good morning, my children," their father announced.

The three boys stood shoulder to shoulder and bowed. "Good morn-"

"Wait!" All eyes fell on the little girl. "One not up yet."

Yoshi then smiled. "You are right, Josephine. Why don't you go wake him up?" Joey nodded and hopped to the only door that was shut. This door had several dents that curved inward and outward and came in various sizes. Jo ignored them, turned the handle and pushed the door open. The light flooded into the room, brightening up over half of it. It didn't, however, reach the bed that sat on the other side of the room. Joey crept over a pile of comics and walked on her toes to the side of the bed, then she smiled at who slept in it.

Her second oldest brother with bright, green eyes and a lightning bolt-shaped crack in his plastron, Raphael, or Raph (or Raphie) as his siblings called him, laid curled up in his bed with the blanket up to his chest under his arms with a bit of drool dribbling out of the corner of his mouth onto his pillow. He had his arms pulled inward like he was shielding something; Joey carefully leaned in to see what he had and let out a giggle when she realized it was his pat turtle, Spike, who he found in the sewers after being flushed down the drain and rescued him from a flash flood after a heavy rain. Raph never lat any of their brothers hold him. He _sometimes _lets her hold it, but not when anyone is around because Mikey would whine and say it wasn't fair. Raphael always had the fiercest temper out of the siblings; he got mad easily at almost anything, and often took his frustrations out on his brothers. He bullies Michelangelo a lot, he and Leo get in the most fights, and Donnie and Joey are often left alone, but either one or both of them tried to separate them. Raphael was always a bit jealous of Leo because of how their father always complimented him on his hard work and responsibility, and always wanted to please his father and get his attention. However, Leo, Donnie, Mikey or Joey always got it. But despite his crudeness and harshness to others, Joey had always known he had a soft side within him the first moment she saw him as an infant. Somewhere.

Joey poked him lightly in the chest. "Raphie," she whispered. No response, nor movement. She tapped him on his snout. "Raaaaphie. It time to wake up." Raph only snorted and rolled onto his side, facing the wall. Spike opened his beady eyes, licked his lips and made a faint squeak sound when he saw Josephine. She patted his little head and shushed him then made her way to the end of the bed. Joey wore a mischievous smile on her face; she had other ways in getting her brothers out of bed, especially Raphael. "Oh, Raphie," she said in a soft, threatening, sing-song way, "If you no get up, I have to do 'dwastic' measures." She slid her tiny hand under the sheets until she felt skin; her grin grew as she used her pointer finger and stroked side to side. What she touched flinched and was pulled upward. She giggled then crawled onto the bed, climbing over her brother's body and knelt beside his head. She lifted her pointer finger and pointed it at his neck; she knew there was one spot on his neck that always made him squirm. There was no difference if he was asleep or awake. She found that certain place and glided her finger over it lightly. A snort from him made a bear a silly grin appear on her face and she did it again a few more times. The snort became a giggle, and after a few more, continuous times, that giggle turned into faint laughing. Jo-Jo knew she had her brother and pounced with a little roar on top of him, poking him all over.

Raph exploded into laughter and squirmed under her, but he couldn't shake his sister. His brothers and father could hear him laughing and figured that Joey had gotten him up and they chuckled to themselves. "O-Okahahay!" he gasped between giggles. "I-I'm up! I'm up! Please stohohop!" Joey ceased poking and got off her brother, kneeling beside him on his bed. He sat up and tried to glare angrily at her, but just couldn't when she had that silly grin on her face; he just laughed again and pulled her into his lap and ruffled her hair. "Ya had to ruin my dream, Jo-Jo," Raph grumbled playfully. "I was dreamin' that I was beatin' a ton o' baddies."

Joey beamed a smile and tugged on his arm. "You tell Daddy all 'bout good dream when you get up. Up, up, up!" she told him, still pronouncing her R's like a 'W'. "Off ya shell, Raphie."

"Wait a second." Raphael pulled from her grip and headed back to his bed. He lifted Spike up and rested him on his own little pillow, then fed him a lettuce leaf and smiled as he scratched under his chin.

"Raphie!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming. Geez, hold yer horses," Raph said as he climbed off her bed and followed her out, walking carelessly over the pile of scattered comics and out of his room with Joey dragging him by his hand.

The three turtles in hall turned to them and grinned. "I see you got dragged out of bed, too," Leo said with a smirk.

"Very funny," Raph glared as Jo led him to the middle of the hall.

"Don't feel bad, Raph," Donnie said, laying a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Joey got me up the same way, too." Joey beamed a smile and rocked on her heels.

Then the humanoid rat approached them. "Now may we begin our day, Josephine?" he asked with a smile, and she bounced her head up and down. Yoshi chuckled and stood tall before the mutated turtles and human girl. "Good morning, my children."

The children bowed in respect. "Good morning, Father/Daddy," they said in unison.

"Shall we begin today's training?" Yoshi declared.

"Yes, Father/Daddy," his five children nodded.

Then their father smiled. "I am feeling a bit generous today. You five have all done well in mastering the art of ninjutsu."

"Even Mikey?" Raph snorted, making the little one pout.

Yoshi glared and swatted his leg with his staff. "That was harsh, Raphael. Now apologize you your brother." Raph grumbled under his breath and did so, and of course, Mikey easily forgave him, as this was the norm of him being teased by Raph. The rat nodded in approval and went on, "As I was saying, you five have been training hard for a while, and you have all improved greatly over these past few weeks. I was thinking we would cut our training session in half, and spend the rest of the day for family get-together." The boys and girl exclaimed happily; normally, family bonding for them would be meditating or drinking tea, but it seemed their father had something else in mind. "Now," he said. "Let us begin."

Yoshi took his human daughter into his arms and led his four humanoid turtle sons through their home to the dojo he had built for them to practice and train in. There was a large rug on the floor that covered almost the entire floor to the where it met the wall, and there was a large tree on the northern side; yes, it was real. On the western wall was a shelf where the students racked their weapons, including their masks. On the hangers were their masks: one was blue, one was red, one was orange, one was purple, and one was silver. On the shelf below it were the weapons: a twin set of katana, a pair of sais, two kusarigama nun-chucks, a bo staff, and little fingerless gloves and iron wrist plates. The young ninjas each grabbed a mask and their chosen weapons, then raced to the center of the dojo, sitting on their knees at Yoshi's feet. Leonardo wore the blue mask and laid the twin katana in front of him. Raphael wore the red mask and placed the pair of sais in his lap. Donatello wore the purple mask and laid the staff horizontally on the carpet. Michelangelo wore the orange mask and held the nun-chucks in his hands. Josephine wore the silver mask and slipped the gloves on her hands, then strapped the wrist plates around her lower arms.

The children all glanced upward to their father, awaiting him to announce today's lesson. He sat on the floor crossing his legs, resting his hands on his knees, closing his eyes. He told them as they got in the same position, "My children, we will first begin with a brief meditation. To allow our Chi to awaken from rest, to give it energy. To fuel our bodies with strength, and calm ourselves. Now, breathe in..." he and his students breathed in at the same time, "and out." They exhaled slowly. "In again..." they sucked in air slowly, "and back out." They exhaled. "One more time, in..."

"_Huh'ksshhh!_" Yoshi opened his eyes at the abrupt sound to see Donatello rubbing under his nose. The little turtle blushed. "S-Sorry, Sensei," he stammered embarrassed. His children called Yoshi 'Sensei' because during training, he was their master.

Yoshi cleared his throat giving Donnie a brief glare before closing his eyes and resuming their meditation. "Again. In-"

"_Huh'ksshhuh!_"

Yoshi opened his eyes again at the disturbance and glared with a displeased groan, then he noticed Donnie sniffling and itching his nose. "Is everything all right, my son?" he asked.

Donnie sniffled again and replied, "Y-Yes, Sensei, just a tickle in m-my..._H-Huh'ksshuuh!_ ugh, bless me."

Leo pressed his hand against his younger brother's forehead. "You feel hot. You must be sick," he said. Little Josephine gasped and crawled to Donnie's side, hugging him. Leo tried to separate them. "Now, Jo-Jo, if Don is sick, then we don't want you getting sick, too."

"No!" Joey exclaimed. "I hug Donnie! I no care he sick!"

"Josephine," their father said gently yet firmly, "Leonardo is correct. You have a very weak system to fight the germs that make you sick, so we can't risk you getting ill." He sighed pitifully when he saw Joey's bottom lip quiver. "Little one," he said kindly, "I understand you care and worry for your brother, but I am sure he wouldn't want you to get sick as much as I don't."

Don sniffled. "He's right, Jo-Jo." Josephine looked up at him. "I know how weak your immune system is, and I don't want to put you at risk, okay?" Joey blinked tears and sniffled, nuzzling his arm. Donnie widened his eyes a little; during all the time he knew his little human sister, it was nearly impossible to make her cry, and when she did she had to be seriously hurt or scared. From what Don could see, Josephine did seem to be afraid; afraid something would happen to him if she didn't help. He smiled and ruffled her hair. "Hey, it's okay. It's just a little cold, probably. I'll be..._Huh'ckshooo!_-fine in no time."

"I-I take care o' you?" Jo whimpered.

Donnie smiled and looked to their father. The rodent sighed, lowering his head. Then he said, "If you wish to care for your brother, you may." Joey gasped happily and smiled. "But you may after your training. Just because Donatello is excused from practice does not mean you four are. Now, I am going to take your brother to bed, and I want you to behave while I am away. Understood?"

"Hai, Sensei," the three turtles and little girl said together. Yoshi took the turtle in the purple mask up in his arms and carried him out of the dojo back to his room.

Mikey smirked with a snicker. "Geez, it's like he thinks we're gonna burn the whole lair down."

Raph huffed and crossed his arms. "So unfair, he don't get to train and we do!"

"But we're not sick, Raph," said Leo. "And Donnie can't train while he's sick, it would make him feel worse." Joey nodded her head in agreement.

Raphael just scoffed. "Whatever."

"SHH! Daddy coming back," Joey shushed him as Yoshi entered the dojo and sat cross-legged in front of them. "Donnie otay?" Raph snickered; he always found it funny how his sister said 'otay' instead of 'okay'.

Yoshi nodded. "Yes, Josephine, Donatello is okay, he just needs some rest."

"We see 'im?" she asked.

"After training. All right?"

"Otay, Sensei." Raph snickered again.

Yoshi sighed. "I believe we should just skip the meditation and begin the lesson." He stood up, as did his remaining students. "Today we will learn a new form of kata." Mikey raised his hand. "Yes, Michelangelo?"

"What kind of kata?" the little ninja asked. Raphael laughed like he had asked the stupidest question.

Yoshi banged his staff on the floor, silencing the red-masked turtle. "It is a new type of kata, my son," he explained. "It will both improve your agility and skills of focus; which you, most of all, need." The orange-clad turtle blushed with a goofy smile. "Now. Observe, my students." He then performed in front of his three sons and daughter. They watched amazed at the quick reflexes, jabs and kicks used. Then again, their father was a grand master of ninjutsu; of course his skills would be superior. He finished with a final jab then rested his hands beside his waists. His students gawked at him admirably, and Yoshi smiled. "Now. I will teach you the same kata, and-" Mikey raised his hand again. "Yes, my son?"

"Yeah, um...How do you expect us to learn something that you did at, like, super-sonic speed?" the orange-clad ninja asked. Raph rolled his eyes instead of laughing because his little brother had asked yet another stupid question.

Yoshi tried to give his son an annoyed glare, but the confused look on Mikey's face was too precious and he chuckled instead. "If you had let me finish, my son, you would have heard I will teach it to you one step at a time." Mikey nodded slowly. "But first, I will perform it again. Then I want each of you to try and copy it from as much as you remember. Then I will help you through it, step by step. Understand?"

"Hai, Sensei," the ninjas said and bowed their heads.

Then their master performed the same kata again, staring the same and finishing the same. Then he stood tall and looked to his children. "Which of you would like to try first?" Leonardo instantly raised his hand. "Very well, Leonardo. Come on up." Leo got to his feet and stood in front of his teacher. "Now, try to do the same kata from what you remember." The young ninja nodded and took the first stance Yoshi stood in then performed as much as he could remember and finished in the same position as his father, his hands made into fists, sitting at his waist. He looked to his father for approval. "Well done, Leonardo. You almost had it perfect. Just after the third roundhouse kick, there is a jab of your left hand, not your right, and you do it once in the air. Now, try it again." Leo did so, fixing his mistakes, and Yoshi grinned as his son mastered the kata. "Excellent, my son. It is rare to master a technique so quickly. You are improving well."

Leo beamed a smile then bowed respectively. "Thank you, Sensei."

Raphael huffed to himself, folding his arms over his chest. "Teacher's pet," he muttered under his breath. While he scowled at his brother, Joey and Mikey gawked admirably.

However, Yoshi heard his troubled son and towered over him. "Raphael." The red-clad turtle quickly glanced up at the sound of his father's strict tone. "Would you like to try?" Raph swallowed heavily then turned to his younger siblings, who just stared back at him. Mikey blinked incessantly, and Joey bore a tiny smile. Raphael then looked to Leo, who just wore the biggest grin on his face. Raph felt tempted by that smile, hoping to wipe it clean off when he does just as good at completing the kata. With a confident nod, he stood up and started off in the same position. Halfway through what he remembered, after the roundhouse kick, his foot slipped and he fell on his rump with a thud. Mikey giggled and Joey shushed him harshly. Raph flushed angrily and stood up to try again, resuming where he left off. He stumbled a bit or two trying to perfect it and he grunted each time he did up till he finished, blushing angrily and embarrassed. "You did good, my son. But next time, go a little slower and loosen your muscles. Too much intensity and quickness can cause imbalance, and bruises on your tail." He chuckled and playfully swatted Raphael's rump with the end of his staff. "Now, would you like to try again?" Raph eagerly nodded.

"DADDY!"

They all jumped at the shrill of Donnie's cry. Yoshi gasped and raced out of the dojo, Leo, Mikey and Joey not far behind. Raph humphed agitatedly and stomped after them. They entered Donnie's room to see him sobbing with dribble on his lips. Yoshi raced to his son's side. "What is the matter, my child?"

Donnie sniffled and wiped his eyes with his knuckles. "I-I...I...t-thre-ew u-u-up..." he said between hiccups. Hamato Yoshi then noticed the stain of bile on his ailing son's bed sheet and grimaced; then he took pity and sighed sadly, placing a paw on Donnie's shoulder.

"Ugh...it smells like something died in here!" Raph exclaimed, plugging his nose.

"Hush!" the humanoid rodent snapped, making the little ones jump. Yoshi wiped away Donatello's tears and shushed him gently. "It is all right, my son. It is all right. Now, you go wash up while I clean your sheets." Donnie sniffled with a nod. Joey began crying all over again and ran to Don's bedside, clinging to him and wailing in his arms. "Josephine, enough of this. Your brother is ill, leave him be." Yoshi tried pulling them apart, but Josephine's hold on her brother was fixed tight, and the rat just sighed aggravated.

Donnie sniffled with a light cough. "I-It's...okay, Father..." he said as he ruffled her hair a bit. "S-She's only scared for m-me."

"I understand, but I do not want her to get sick," the rodent said.

"I-I guess that's up to her," Donnie shrugged, rubbing under his nose.

Joey then turned to her father with large, teary teal-blue eyes. Yoshi could not hold any anger or agitation against a look like this, and he sighed heavily. "I suppose it is, my son. But she must resume her training." Joey whimpered and sniffled. Yoshi turned to his three sons in the doorway. "You three return to the dojo. I will meet you there in a minute." Leo, Raph and Mikey nod and head back to the training room. "Now. I will be back with a wet cloth soon, and I will put your sheets in the washer. Josephine, you keep him company, understand?" Joey nodded eagerly and sat next to Donnie on his bed.

While Yoshi went into the kitchen after depositing the soiled bed sheets in the washer, and while Joey stayed with Donatello until he returned, Leo and Raph and Mikey sat in the dojo cross-legged, waiting for their father to return to resume their instruction. Raphael impatiently and angrily drummed his fingers on his knee as he glared at the floor. Not long after, he got tired of waiting and stood up, trying out the kata once more. He tried the first roundhouse kick but slipped like before, falling on his tail. He growled through his teeth and slammed his fists on the floor. "I always mess that part up! I'll never get it right!"

"Sure you will, Raph," said Leo, "you just have to keep practicing."

"You got it right the first time, Leo!" Raph retorted, shooting a nasty glare at his oldest brother.

Leonardo shrugged his shoulders. "Well I train the most with Father, so I have better experience."

Better. That one word always shot fire through Raph's veins. The ill-tempered mutant turtle growled, tightening his fists, ready to sock one in Leo's eye; and he would have if his father had not returned to the dojo with Josephine in his arms. Yoshi sat Joey beside Mikey and stood in front of them again. "Now, where were we? Oh. Raphael. Do you still want to try again with the kata?"

Raph exchanged glances from his Sensei to his siblings beside him. The looks they gave him made him feel a bit uneasy, like a large crowd watching your every move while you stand alone on a stage. He sighed heavily and lowered his gaze. He was tired of making a fool of himself, and that was something Mikey usually did during training. "No," he grumbled. "No thanks, Sensei."

"Are you sure, my son? You were very eager to try again earlier." Raphael nodded his head. "Very well. Now. Michelangelo, Josephine. Which of you would like to try first?"

"Me, me, me!" Mikey waved his hand frantically in the air and jumped to his feet.

"Very well, Michelangelo. Just start from the beginning and perform as much as you remember," Yoshi told him. Mikey nodded eagerly and stood in the starting position, then began to perform the kata. He did fall a few times but got back up with a giggle and continued. However, while trying to do spinning back-kick, he fell backwards flat on his face. Mikey sat up quickly and wailed, covering his mouth.

"Mikey!" Leo and Joey exclaimed and crawled to his side. Raph just remained where he knelt and plugged his ears to block out his youngest brother's crying.

"Here. Let me see, my son," Yoshi said gently. Mikey removed his hands and widened his mouth. "Ooh, your lip is busted a little bit and...your tooth is gone."

"Toof?" Joey repeated and looked in his mouth. "Toof! Toofy gone!"

Leo chuckled. "It's too_th_, with a t-h, not an 'f'. But yeah, it is gone."

"It's right there," Raph dully said and pointed where Mikey's face impacted the floor; it was surrounded by a small puddle of blood.

Mikey wiggled his tongue where his tooth used to be and whined. "It feels weird, Daddy."

"I know, it does, but wait a while and a new, grown up tooth will come in," Yoshi told him. Mikey gasped and smiled. "Now, you four sit here while I get an ice pack for Michelangelo's lip." He then stood up and left the dojo.

Raph got a good look at the small tear in Mikey's lip and scoffed. "You're a baby. There ain't hardly anything there. All that fuss over nothing."

Mikey pouted. "It didn't really hurt, it's just the fact I hit my face on the floor that scared me," he said.

"Oh, so you're a baby, and a scaredy-cat?" Raph laughed.

"Knock it off, Raph, leave him alone," Leo said, frowning. "I'm sure you'd cry if you fell face-first into the floor. I know you did when you scraped your knee in a game of tag."

Raph just stuck out his tongue and blew raspberries at him. Leo rolled his eyes at his brother's immaturity and rubbed Mikey's shell. "It's okay, Mikey."

Michelangelo ran his tongue over the tear in his lip. "It's all swollen and red." Joey suddenly leaned in and kissed it. Mikey pulled away and laughed. "Eww! Joey, why'd ya do that?"

"Daddy kiss our boo-boos and pain go 'way, so I try an' make the pain go 'way," the toddler girl explained with a proud smile. "It work? I do good?"

It really caused his lip to sting a bit, but he played along and nodded. "Yeah, the pain all gone, Joey. Thank you!" Josephine giggled and hugged him tightly. Yoshi then returned to the dojo with a baggie filled with ice wrapped in a cloth and handed it to Mikey, who pressed it carefully against his lip. He said Mikey could wait a while before trying again if he wanted to.

"Josephine," Yoshi said. "I believe it is your turn to try." Joey bobbed her head frantically and got to her feet. She closed her eyes as she stood in the starting position, then little by little she performed the kata, eventually speeding up once she felt comfortable. She twirled on her bare toes during the kicks and kept her footing during the jabs and punches, and finished with a perfect leap-kick, then stood in the final position. Yoshi let out a chuckle of impression. "That was quite impressive, Josephine. You did not make a single mistake." Joey giggled and rocked on her heels. No one noticed Raphael's careless eye-roll, or heard his disgusted scoff. Yoshi then looked to his children. "Boys, there is a lesson to this. Do you know what it is?"

Mikey raised his hand. "Don't fall on your face?"

The humanoid rat laughed a bit. "No, that isn't it, Michelangelo."

Leo held his hand up next. "Patience is a virtue?"

"Correct, my son," Yoshi nodded. "You must have patience to accomplish something. See how Josephine took each step slow then sped up when she felt comfortable?" The boys nodded. "Well done, Josephine." The little girl grinned and plopped herself back next to Mikey, who congratulated her by ruffling her hair. "You four have all done well."

"Go see Donnie now?" Joey chirped. "Pwease?"

The father sighed and nodded. "Yes, you may go-" Before he could finish, Josephine was already on her feet and dashing out of the dojo to her brother's room. He smiled and shook his head. "You boys may go, as well." Leo and Mikey raced out together while Raph trudged behind them, glaring at the floor.

Jo-Jo skipped into Donnie's room to find him asleep with tissues on the floor and a trash can beside his bed. Joey knew he hadn't thrown up because there was no foul smell, so she continued her way into his room and sat next to him on the mattress, watching him sleep. She giggled every other time he snored because of his stuffy nose, but mostly she wanted him to rest peacefully, so she remained quiet.

Leo saw her in Donnie's room while he was sleeping, and she was on his bed. He poked his head in and frowned. "Joey," he hissed in a whisper. "Get down from there. He's sleeping and you could wake him up."

"Donnie say I could," the girl lied.

Leo knew how much of a horrible liar his sister was, so he marched into his sick brother's room, lifted his sister off of his bed and held her up as she fussed and bucked, trying to break free. But Leo's hold on her only tightened, digging his fingers into her sides, and she suddenly started giggling. "Leo, that tickles!" The more Joey laughed the more she moved, and the more she moved the tighter Leo's hold was on her, making the girl giggle even more. "Leheheo, no tickle!"

Unfortunately, Joey's giggles had awoken Donnie from his sleep and he groggily sat up rubbing his eyes and nose. Leo saw his weary brother awake and scowled at his little sister. "Joey, your laughing woke Donnie up!"

Josephine pouted and stamped her little foot. "You tickle me!" she defended herself, pointing at Leo and sticking out her bottom lip.

Donnie yawned. "W-What's goin' on? Whu's this about?" he asked sleepily.

"I found Joey sitting next to you on your bed and I didn't want her to wake you," Leo explained, "so I tried to take her out but she wouldn't remain still."

"You tickle me!" Jo whined and folded her arms over her chest.

Donnie chuckled with a light cough. "It's okay, Leo. Sensei said it was okay for her to look after me." Joey nodded in agreement. "Well, I should get up anyway. I'm hungry."

"You sure your stomach's okay?" Leo asked.

"Yeah, I feel better with my stomach. I'm just feverish and stuffy," Don said, rubbing his head.

"Okay. I'll tell Father to make you some soup. Joey...just do whatever, but don't pester him." Then Leo left his brother's room to find their father.

Leo didn't notice Raph pouting on the couch in their living area. The unhappy turtle watched his brother enter the kitchen to ask Yoshi, who was looking at Mikey's busted lip, to make Donnie some soup because he was hungry. Raph huffed and sat back down on the couch, crossing his legs and folding his arms over his plastron. His siblings were getting all the attention. Donnie sick and Joey was looking after him, and Sensei was making him soup. Mikey busted his lip and his getting all the looking-after and the comfort. Leo and Joey did an excellent job practicing the kata and got all the praise and glory. And what does he get? Scolds and lectures, and bruises on his tail.

His lower lip trembled angrily as Raph squeezed his eye shut. He wondered in things would be better for the family if they didn't have him around. His temper always left someone hurt, either physically or psychologically. But his words always wounded his family more. It seemed clear to him that their father appreciated the others more than him. When Leo and Mikey followed their father as they carried a bowl of soup into Donnie's room, he sought the opportunity to run out of their home and deep within the sewers.

The mutant rat and young turtles found Joey sitting on Donnie's lap holding a tissue to his nose, telling him to blow. "Josephine, what are you doing?" asked Yoshi

"Donnie sneeze a lot," she said, "I try help an' clean his nose from 'mucus'. I learn new word! Donnie teach me!" She then turned back to her ailing brother, holding the tissue to his nose. "Blow, Donnie!" Donatello abruptly sneezed into the tissue. "ACK! I say 'blow', not 'sneeze'! Your ears turned off or somethin'?!" They all laughed.

Yoshi lifted Joey from Don's lap and placed himself on the edge of his son's bed, holding the bowl of soup in one hand and a spoonful in the other. "Try to eat, my son. Replenish your strength." He held the spoon at Donnie's lips; Don slowly opened them and allowed the spoon access into his mouth. The warm broth of the chicken soup sent chills down his spine and he swallowed it little by little. He gave his father a nod to let him know he was ready for another serving. Just as the bowl was half-empty, Donatello began yawning and his eyes began to droop. Hamato Yoshi softly sang his son a lullaby to help him rest, and when he finished he kissed his forehead and left, his children not far behind. Joey pecked Donnie a kiss on his cheek and skipped out of the room.

Mikey landed on the couch and turned on the TV to watch cartoons, Leo went into the kitchen to fix himself a sandwich, and their father was playing with Josephine, who giggled as she tried to catch his pink, naked tail. Mikey suddenly frowned and looked around him. "Hey. Where's Raph?"

Leo came out with a peanut-butter jelly sandwich. "Dunno. Last I saw him he was following us out of the dojo."

"Where Raphie?" Jo asked, the concern easily heard in her voice.

"Raphael," Yoshi called out, searching through the lair. There was no sign of his second-oldest child. "Raphael. This is no time for playing. Come out, now." Nothing. "Raphael!"

"Ya think he ran off into the sewers?" Leo asked, now sounding afraid. "What if he gets lost?"

Joey gasped and began crying. "Raphie l-lost?!"

The humanoid rat headed for the exit of their home. "Leonardo, look after your siblings!" he instructed then disappeared into the tunnels, crying out his lost son's name. The name echoed throughout the curved walls of the tunnel, but no reply came. Tears stung the rodent's eyes and he quickened his pace. He feared the worst had happened to his son. He was not prepared to lose another child.

He suddenly froze in his tracks when a sound came to his ears. He held his breath and listened; it sounded like distant sniffling. It was far, but a possible sign his son was alright. Yoshi followed the sound into the abandoned, sealed off section of the sewers. The sniffles came from within a deep hole in the wall and he crawled into it. There in the furthest corner was Raphael, hugging his knees and hiding his face, his shoulders shaking violently as he sobbed and sniffled in his lap.

Yoshi sighed of relief and crawled towards his son slowly. "Raphael." The mutant turtle quickly raised his head to reveal a tear-stained face, red eyes, and a little dribble of snot running down his upper lip. Raphael glared and hiccuped, then turned his head away from his father. "Oh, my son," Yoshi said, his voice quivering. "I thought something horrible had happened to you. Do not ever scare me like that again, you understand?" Raph just huffed his breathing and sniffled. "Do you understand me?!" Yoshi exclaimed, fearfully and angrily. "You know you are not allowed to wander through the sewers alone!"

Raph fought his father's grip and spat, "Oh, so now ya care 'bout me?!" Yoshi gave him an alarmed and surprised look, like he didn't understand. "I think it's obvious ya like the others more than me! They are better at everything, even when they mess up, they get all the attention when they're sick or hurt, and they get all the lovin'! What do I get?! I get yelled at and spankings and punishments and sits in the corner! I'm the bad kid! They're the precious little angels! You love them more, I know it!" Raph turned away and howled as tears stung his eyes and rolled down his cheeks like an assembly line.

Yoshi was shocked, and heartbroken, at what his son had just poured out to him. He crawled to him and wrapped his arms around him, embracing the boy tightly. "Oh, Raphael," he said softly, stroking Raph's head. "I would never love someone more than another. I love you all the same. And the only reason you get punished is to learn your mistakes, and I punish you because I love you. You are not a bad kid, you are my precious little angel, as are the others. I understand your temper always gets the best of you, but that does not change the fact that you are my son and I will love you forever. I love you so much, my son...my child..." He softly sobbed as he rocked back and forth, continuing to rub Raph's head. The little turtle's crying reduced to sniffles, hearing his father's short breaths and sobbing. He raised his trembling arms up and wrapped them around Yoshi's body, squeezing as tight as he could.

They both heard the sound of quick footsteps approaching them and looked to see a small figure race down the tunnel and stumble into the hole. When the figure came into the dim light, they both saw it was Josephine, covered in scrapes from tripping numerous times. "Josephine," Yoshi exclaimed. "What are you doing here? I told you to stay in the lair!" Joey didn't listen; she just broke down crying and collapsed on top of her brother, draping her arms around his neck. Her small body shook with each sob and wail she let out and she buried her face into his chest. Yoshi then understood. "It seems Josephine was as well nearly scared-to-death at your sudden absence."

Raph looked from his father to his sister clinging to him. She was scared...for him. Not of him. She cared about him, and ran all this way, this deep in the sewers, to find him. Raph began crying again and hugged her tightly. Yoshi embraced them both, holding them close to his chest. Suddenly Leo came stumbling in to the little chamber. "I'm sorry, Master Splinter, I tried to stop her, but-" he was silenced, and puzzled, at the sight of his father, brother and baby sister all crying together. He saw Raph completely broken down and felt sorry for him. Then the fear of something dangerous happening to him, or that could have happened, flooded over him, and he rand to Raph's side and hugged him, crying into his neck. His wet eyes suddenly widened. "Raph...y-you're hurt..." he pointed to a large gash on his brother's arm.

Raph glanced down and noticed the cut. "I-I didn't even know it was there..."

"Come," Yoshi stood up and carried Raph in one arm and Josephine in the other, "let us return home and look at it. Michelangelo and Donatello are probably worried." Leo stayed close to his father's side and often switched sides to be near Joey and Raph. To try and cheer them up he'd graze his finger along the soles of their feet to make them giggle, and he succeeded each time.

When they returned to the lair, Mikey and Donnie ran up to Raph crying and threw their arms around him. "W-We were so worried," Donnie wept, then he noticed the cut on Raph's arm, and saw Joey covered in scrapes from head to toe. "What happened?"

"All shall be explained soon, my son," Yoshi said calmly. "Right now, I need to clean Raphael's and Josephine's wounds." He carried them both to the bathroom and placed them on the counter, then began rummaging through the medicine cabinet. He pulled out a box full of bandages and a needle and thread, in case he had to stitch anything. "Now, hold still," he said as he ran a towelette under a running faucet of cold water. "This may sting a little." He dabbed the moist towelette on Joey's skinned knees, and the second the cloth grazed her skin, she yelped in pain, pulling her legs inward to her chest. Yoshi got a gentle grip on her ankles and pulled her legs towards him, and he continued dabbing the scrapes on her knees and legs. She shined and squirmed a bit, but she eventually got used to the sting. Then he dabbed her arms and elbows, and when he finished he placed bandages over each scrape, as well on her legs.

"Now. Raphael, let me see your arm," Yoshi held his hand out. Raph gingerly extended it and allowed his father to examine it. The humanoid rat re-soaked the towelette and dabbed the wound, trying to rid it of the dry blood; Raphael winced a few times but the stinging subsided after a while. When the excess blood was cleared, Yoshi lifted the cloth to reveal a two-inch cut on his arm. "Hmm. I am trying to decide if it needs stitches." The rodent examined it a while longer, then sighed heavily and pitifully. "I am afraid it does."

Raph gasped. "I-It does?" Yoshi nodded. "I-I don't want stitches!"

He got ready to jump down from the counter and dash out of the bathroom to his bedroom when he felt something squeeze his hand. He turned his head to see Joey's teal-blue eyes locking with his, staring deeply into them. She had a small, yet comforting smile on her face. "It otay, Raphie," she spoke softly. "I hold your hand, so you no be afraid."

Raph was about to object and scold that he wasn't afraid, but he couldn't find a single sense of anger within him. Besides, he was afraid, and he needed a hand to hold. He curled his fingers around hers and smiled thankfully. Raphael faced his father and nodded, then Yoshi began sewing the wound shut. Raph would groan each time the needle pricked him as it slid through his skin, but he kept his mind on positive things: being loved, cared for, having an awesome family, awesome brothers, awesome father, and an awesome baby sister. Sooner than he knew it, the humanoid rodent was finished.

Raphael glanced down at his sealed wound and widened his eyes. "That...was quick."

"Yes," Yoshi nodded. "Having company through hard times keeps your mind from all negative things." He then closed his eyes and lowered his head. "You really frightened all of us when you suddenly left, Raphael. We thought something horrible had happened to you."

Raph hung his head guiltily. "I-I'm sorry, Father. I just...I know my temper is bad, and it always leaves someone hurt. I...I thought things would be better if I wasn't around. You wouldn't have to waste your time swatting my back side or trying to deal with my problems."

The father was shocked. "Oh, my boy. As I said earlier, I understand your temper can cause you to do things you do not mean, but you are as important and needed in this family as are you brothers and your sister. I will be honest, it does grow tiring having to give you punishment the most frequent, but I do so because I love you, and I know you can do better. So much better. We all love you, Raphael," he lightly pressed a hand against his son's cheek, "and you will be loved, forever."

"And ever," Joey chirped, nuzzling his shoulder. Raph chuckled and draped his good arm around her neck.

Once he finished tending to their wounds, Yoshi carried his children to the couch in the living area, placing them next to pillows and covering them up with blankets. Leo, Donnie, and Mikey came racing forward. "You okay, bro?" the youngest turtle asked.

"Yeah, I guess," Raph sighed. He ruffled Joey's hair and added sarcastically, "Joey's fine, too, by the way. Thanks for askin'."

Mikey swatted his hand in the air. "Ahh, Joey's a tough girl. A few scrapes won't bring her down, right?" Josephine held her nose high in the air proudly and nodded.

Raph leaned forward close to his brother. "Ya sayin' I ain't tough?"

Michelangelo shrugged. "Well, you were crying."

"So?!" Raph said. "I'm sure you would too if you had a cut like mine, or if you were covered in scrapes."

Leo smirked. "Deja vu, Raph?" The red-clad turtle was about to ask what he meant, but then he remembered what they discussed in the dojo after Mikey fell flat on his face and busted his lip.

Raphael tried to play it off. "Well, whatever. I'm tough, too, and I can prove it." He showed off his sewn-up cut. "See? I had to get stitches, and I didn't even cry once. Did I, Joey?"

"Nuh-uh!" Joey shook her head fiercely.

"Yup. I am tough," Raph said proudly. "I can withstand almost anything!"

"Yeah. Almost." Leo slid his hand under his blanket to find his foot and stroked his finger along his toes. Raph squeaked and giggled as he pulled his foot further in close to his body. Leo smiled to see his brother laugh.

Then Joey crawled over him to where Donnie knelt. "You feelin' otay, Donnie?" she asked.

Don nodded. "I was scared when I heard Raph had run off, but I feel better now that I know he's safe and back home with us." He and Raphael exchanged glances and smiled at one another.

"As do, I, my son," their father said as he entered the living area. "And I take it you are no longer ailing?"

Donnie shook his head. "No, Father. After a little rest I feel much better than before."

"Donnie not sick no more?" Joey said excitedly.

Donatello laughed and nodded. "Yes, Jo-Jo, I'm not sick, and it's 'anymore', not 'no more'. You don't use a double-negative in a sentence."

"Oh, whatever!" Josephine scoffed and embraced her brother tightly.

"Daddy, can you get Mikey offa me? He fell asleep on my foot." Raph pointed to a sleeping Mikey who nuzzled a lump under his blanket where his foot was. He wiggled his toes, but Mikey didn't move.

Yoshi chuckled. "I believe it is his nap time, as it is for all of you. We have all been stirred up a bit and need some rest." He took Joey in one arm and Mikey in the other, then led his children to their rooms. He laid Mikey in his bed, tucked him in, and kissed his forehead; he did the same with Leonardo and Donatello. Raph noticed Joey whispering in their father's ear and he began nodding slowly. The rodent took his hand and guided him into his room. Yoshi sat Jo on the floor as he tucked his son in bed halfway, then he straightened himself. "Raphael, Josephine has requested if she could nap with you."

Raph blinked a bit then glanced at his sister, who bore a small smile, which began to look silly as sleepiness appeared on her face. The young turtle smiled. "Sure," he said and lifted the blanket that hadn't been tucked under. Yoshi removed the little girl's gear before laying her in bed next to her big brother, tucking them both in tightly, and kissing their foreheads.

"Rest well, my children," he said softly then left the room.

Joey moaned and nuzzled her brother. "Happy dreams, Raphie," she whispered as she drifted off to sleep.

Raphael smiled and laughed a little. "Happy dreams to you, too, Jo-Jo." He patted her back and stared up at the ceiling. So many things had happened that day, and the day wasn't even halfway over. But he learned an important lesson, as well. No matter how much of a trouble-maker he could be, no matter how many times he got punished for it, he would always be loved. And he'd love them; though he'd never completely admit it.

His eyes drifted off to a close and he slept with a smile on his face, hugging his sister with one arm, and holding her hand in the other. Raphael didn't know if he had already known this or if he just discovered it, but he knew they would be close.

Real close.


	2. Chapter 2

~6 years ago~

_Yoshi felt the warm sun gleam down onto his face. The aroma of cherry blossom tickled his nostrils. He held a tight grip around one of her hands while she carried the baby in the other. He smiled at her, her long, dark hair, dark brown eyes, pink lips that curved to a beautiful smile. His heart danced every time he saw it._

_The child she held cooed and hiccuped as drool dribbled down her lip. Yoshi reached over to her and wiped it away with his finger. "She's beautiful," he told her._

_She nodded. "What should we name her? I want it to be special for our little girl."_

_Yoshi thought for a moment, then exclaimed. "I know! Let's name her...Miwa..." The baby squealed happily at the name._

_She giggled. "I think she likes that name." She faced him and pressed her soft lips against his. "And I like it, too." She held their baby close in one hand and draped her other around Yoshi's neck, and they stood in the middle of their garden in the Spring sun, showing their passionate love with an everlasting kiss._

_What sounded like a bomb suddenly went off. The whole garden changed from beautiful to burned and ash. Yoshi was alone, and he felt like he was being crushed. He tried to move, but realized their table was rolled on top of his legs. He cried out to her, but he got no reply. Tears stung his eyes as smoke and flame clouded up around him. He wailed her name, and their baby's, and heard no response._

_He did hear distant crying. The smoke in front of him cleared, and he was a tall, dark figure half-burned walk away from the burning house. Yoshi screamed and reached out to him, his cries echoing...echoing...echoing..._

Splinter sat up with a yell as lightning cracked above him. The thunder that followed racked his body with chills. He quickly glanced around him and saw familiar walls, a familiar floor, and a door. He checked himself and saw he was a humanoid rat, with a long snout, sharp, buck teeth, whiskers, fur, large ears, and a pink, naked tail. He sighed of relief; it was all a nightmare. A cruel, horrific nightmare. Thunder roared above him and he sighed; the storm was getting worse.

He noticed it was unusually darker in the lair than it normally was; the storm must've caused a power outage. His mind quickly filled with thoughts of his children. Though they have grown much, they were still pretty young. Slowly rising to his feet, he used his rat and ninja senses to find his way out of the room and towards his children's. All of their doors were opened, and Splinter was certain he had closed them. He glanced into the first room on the left side of the hall with comics scattered all over the floor. The bed was empty, but the sheet was missing. He checked the room on the opposite side, and the sheet-less bed in there was empty as well. He checked the third and fourth room on the side he first searched, and both were empty. As panic began to overwhelm him, he raced to the last room. The panic died down and he sighed of relief.

Huddled up together with their blankets draped over each other, were his four, 10-year-old mutated turtle sons and one, 5-year-old human daughter, clinging to one another. His oldest, Leonardo, was in the middle of the clump of children, his arms around the shoulders of the second and third oldest, Raphael and Donatello. His youngest son, Michelangelo, hugged Don around his stomach and shivered. His youngest child, Josephine, clung to Raphael as though her little life depended on it. More thunder boomed, and the five children whimpered and stirred.

Yoshi bore a look of pity, for he sensed his children's fear. He slowly entered his eldest son's room and approached them. "My children," he spoke softly, and their eyes all focused on him in the dark. "Are you all right?"

Mikey batted his teary, baby-blue eyes with a sniffle and croaked, "T-The storm is very bad...T-The lights w-went out..."

Splinter sighed, remembering his youngest boy had a great fear of the dark. He got down on his knees and comforted him. "Shh, it is all right, my son. The storm cannot hurt you. You know that?" Mikey nodded. "Good." The young mutant hugged his father, and Donnie began shivering. The humanoid rodent draped his blanket around the lean turtle and the young one's body relaxed. He looked to Leo, who appeared equally troubled and afraid as his siblings. Splinter smiled and rubbed his cheeks free from tears. He noticed Raphael convulsing and whimpering, holding to Leo. He laid a gentle hand on his shoulder and whispered, "Raphael, everything is all right. Relax, my son, the storm cannot hurt you." The turtle with the chip in his plastron shuddered a bit more then settled, but the little girl holding fast to him moaned and trembled. Yoshi shushed her and rubbed her back, softly vocalizing the first verse of a lullaby, and Josephine calmed.

Splinter knew if he left his children alone, they would be filled with fear again. So, he rolled out a blanket behind them and laid upon it. Almost immediately, the four mutants and little human rested their heads on his stomach, either cuddling with their blankets or one another. Thunder boomed and he felt his daughter tremble again. Before he could reach to her, he saw Raphael grab and squeeze her hand. They exchanged glances and he gave her a comforting smile. Joey smiled back and rolled closer to him, nuzzling him like she did as a toddler. The rat wore a grin of his own and closed his eyes.

* * *

His children must've slept through the rest of the storm, because the only time he had awoken was late the next morning and not extremely early. He sat up groggily and covered his mouth as he yawned. He heard the kids talking, and shouting, in the kitchen. There were also clattering and clanging sounds. He got up to his feet and headed for the kitchen where he received a shock. The kids and floor were covered in flour, egg shells, whites and yolk were on the walls, the stove was smoking, salt and pepper shakers were spilled everywhere, and milk glasses were knocked over on the counter and dripping. Leo was trying to pull Raph off of Mikey, whom he was threatening with the rolling pin, Joey was licking syrup off her fingers, and Donnie was scrubbing the excess flour off of his shell. "What is going on in here?!" Splinter shouted.

All the commotion in the kitchen stopped immediately and all eyes fell upon the angered humanoid rodent. The children briefly exchanged glances then stood up shoulder-to-shoulder. Yoshi demanded an explanation. Leonardo stepped forward. "W-Well...you see, Master Splinter, we, uh...We wanted to thank you for staying with us during the storm last night-"

"And we wanted to make you breakfast to show our thanks," Raph added.

"I suggested we make pancakes with eggs and a glass of milk," Donnie said.

"I wanted to make it," Mikey raised his hand a little.

"Then Mikey bump into Raph and Raph get mad," Josephine explained, "and things all go flying everywhere. The flour go here and there, the milk go over there, the eggs go into the wall, the syrup go all over me, the flour go on all of us. Now the kitchen look like war went through it."

Splinter just stood there, the veins in his face standing out. The children gulped, expecting a really loud, painful lecture. Splinter sighed and began laughing. "It does look like a war came through here. And you five look like you were caught in the line of fire." The mutant turtles and little human laughed nervously. "Come, let us clean you all up, and we'll clean the kitchen next."

"What about breakfast?" Raph asked.

"It will probably be lunchtime by the time we finish, Raphael," Yoshi said as he led his children to the bathroom and ran the water. He helped Joey get undressed, feeling rather uncomfortable being naked in front of her brothers; they really didn't care, but she did. Splinter knelt at the edge of the tub placed Mikey and Leo into the water, then Raph and Donnie. He tried to get Joey into the water, but she stared at it like it was filled with snakes and backed away.

"Josephine, I know you fear the water," Splinter told her gently, "but I will not let anything happen to you. Okay?" Joey hesitantly nodded and stepped into the tub. She always felt nervous about the water since she nearly drowned a couple years ago, but Jo felt safe with her father near by. Yoshi soaked a rag, squeezed body wash onto it, scrubbed the rag in his hands to make it sudsy, then began to clean his children. He started with Josephine so she wouldn't have to sit in the water for much longer. All he had to do was rinse out her thin hair and scrub her body free of the syrup. When he finished he lifted her out of the tub, wrapped her in a towel, then moved on to Donatello. Splinter only had to wash away the flour that stained his third oldest son's skin and shell then move on. He took him out of the bath and put a towel over him then went on to Leonardo. He re-soaked the rag, smothered it with more soap then cleaned his eldest son free from dried egg and flour. He put Leo in a towel with his younger brother and sister out of the tub and went on to Raphael and Michelangelo.

Yoshi tried to squeeze out more soap onto the rag, but the bottle was empty. "Raphael, Michelangelo, you two stay here while I fetch another bottle from the closet. Leonardo, Donatello, and Josephine, dry yourselves off; and boys, help your sister get dressed." They nodded and ran out of the bathroom while Splinter headed towards the closet at the other end of the lair.

Raph and Mikey sat in the crummy water of breakfast ingredients and grimaced. "It's like someone threw up in here," Mikey whined.

"Yeah," Raph nodded in agreement. "Why don't we just drain it out and refill it with fresh water?"

"Because Dad doesn't trust us yet to do things by ourselves," Mikey told him.

Raphael scoffed. "Come on, Mikey, we're ten years old. Joey is the one he can't trust to do some things yet on her own, but we can handle almost anything ourselves."

"Yeah. Almost," Mikey mumbled.

"Mikey, this water is nasty and filthy. If we just sit in here, we'll only get more dirty, and it will make it harder for Dad to clean us. Ya hearing me?" Mikey nodded. "Good. So get out and I'll drain the water." They both hopped out of the bath tub and Raph yanked out the plug from the drain, and they watched the filthy water disappear. "Okay, now I'll run the water."

"Why do you get to run the water?" Mikey pouted.

"Don't start, Mikey," Raph groaned as he put the plug back over the drain. "One: it was my idea. Two: you are the baby brother. And three: you always screw everything up." He then reached over to turn on the water.

"I do not!" Mikey exclaimed and grabbed the handle. They both argued and tugged at the knob, trying to turn it. Then the knob came off the wall.

"Whoops," they said exchanging nervous glances. The boys also didn't realize while they tugged at the knob they also turned it, and not long after the water came gushing out of the faucet, filling the tub quickly.

"Turn it off!" Raph shouted as he tried to put the knob back into the wall, but it only fell into the tub or on the floor. "Come on, come on!" He tried slipping his finger into the hole where the knob used to be to turn the water off, but his finger was too big. "Crap!"

"I told ya," Mikey sobbed. "I told ya, Raphie!"

"Aw, shut up, Mikey!" Raph hollered. He didn't want to show it, but he began panicking as the hot water began to spill over the edge of the tub and onto the floor.

Splinter then entered the bathroom to find it flooding. "What happened?!" he shouted, more shocked than angry.

"It was Raph's idea!" Mikey cried and pointed to his older brother.

"Shut up!" Raphael wailed back; then he slipped on the water, falling backwards and hitting his head against the wall, and he sat there trying not to cry. Yoshi lifted his sons off the ground and placed them outside the bathroom; then he slipped his narrow fingers into where the knob sat and twisted. The water then shut off. Splinter reached down to the bottom of the tub and pulled out the drain, and the water lowered until the tub was empty.

The humanoid rat then turned around to face his dripping wet, shivering sons. He gave them both towels and led them out of the bathroom, plopping them on the couch in the living area. Leo poked his head out of Joey's room while Donnie pulled her shirt over her head, and he noticed water flowing from the bathroom. Leo looked to his father and saw Splinter's anger slowly building up. Raph and Mikey were in for a loud lecture. But then he questioned, why would their father get mad at them flooding the bathroom and not all of them ruining the kitchen, which began to smell of dry egg and milk.

Mikey fidgeted on the couch cushion, and Raph rubbed his head while Yoshi took in one deep breath at a time. "Now," he finally said, "would either of you care to explain what happened?" When none of the boys answered, he held up one of his hands, tensing it.

The young ninjas yelped. Mikey then explained, "Well, we didn't want to sit in that nasty water of kitchen food stuff anymore, so Raph came up with the idea of draining that water and refilling it with fresher water. I told him not to because you always tell us there are some things we can't do on our own, but Raphie made good points and persuaded me to help him. He drained the tub and wanted to refill it, but I wanted to refill it, so we tugged and pulled at the knob until it came out, and then the water came gushing out. We tried to stop it, but the knob wouldn't go back into its place on the wall, and our fingers were to fat to try and turn it from in there. Then the tub filled up quickly and flooded the entire bathroom, and that's when you came in." He took a long deep breath in then let it out. "...Just so you know, it was all Raph's idea."

The red-clad ninja glared. "You chose ta help!"

"You persuaded me!" Mikey exclaimed.

"Ya don't even know what 'persuade' means."

"Yes, I do! It means to convince someone to do something."

"...Huh. Guess there's a brain in there after all."

"Shut up!"

"Make me!"

"_Yame!_" the rodent bellowed and banged his staff on the ground. The other Hamato kids jumped at the loud echo that followed the bang and peeked from behind a pillar. Yoshi took in a deep breath and said deeply, "Michelangelo, you are correct. There are still some things I do not want you to do on your own, even things as simple as draining the tub and refilling it. And Raphael, I understand that the water was dirty, but I was only going to be gone for a few minutes. Could you not wait that long?"

Raph tried not to sniffle and glared at the floor. "Sorry," he grumbled.

Yoshi sighed and closed his eyes. "Just what made you think of that idea, anyhow, my son?"

Raph folded his arms over his chest and replied, "I just didn't wanna sit in that crummy water anymore...a-and I thought it would make cleanin' us easier if that water wasn't there, so..." Splinter nodded as if he understood. "I-I didn't mean ta flood the bathroom, Dad, I promise!"

"I believe you, my son," Splinter said calmly. "But just learn, if you wish to do something, then remember to wait for me so I may help you. All right?" Raph nodded and he began sniffling. It was then he sensed something wrong. "Is everything all right, Raphael?"

"M-My head hurts," the mutant boy moaned.

Mikey nodded. "Yeah, you did hit it pretty hard on the wall. It was like a _THWUMP!_" Raph fumed and appeared ready to shove Mikey's head deep into his shell.

"Michelangelo," Splinter sternly said, hoping to prevent any further damage from happening. "Clearly your brother is hurt. Now, go wash up while I take Raphael to look at the bump on his head."

Mikey rocked back and forth on his heels and said with a cracked smile, "Yeah, well...wouldn't ya think I'm already washed up after nearly flooding the entire lair?" Yoshi gave him a threatening glare, and the young turtle yelped and sped off.

The mutant rat lifted Raphael off the couch and carried him to the dojo, laying him down on the rolled out mat. "Now, hold still, my son, I just want to get a look." Splinter lightly pressed his hands against Raph's head and noticed a slight dark-green circle on the turtle's scalp. It looked about the size of a golf ball. "And this happened when you slipped and hit your head on the wall?" Raph sniffled with a nod. "Oh, my son," the father said pitifully and kissed his son's bump.

"OW!" Raph cried and pulled away.

Splinter jumped a bit and looked surprised. "I sincerely apologize, my son. Wait here for a moment." He then got to his feet and headed towards the kitchen. When he left, Leo, Mikey, Donnie and Joey entered. Raph muttered angrily; he didn't want his siblings to know he had been crying over a little bump.

"You okay, Raph?" asked Leonardo.

"Yeah," Raphael grumbled. He noticed his human little sister looking at him with sad, teal-blue eyes, but he did his best to ignore them. He also tried to brush off the hug she gave him. But the truth was, he needed one.

"Man, that is a large mark," Don said, pointing to Raph's head. "You must've hit your head pretty hard." Raph grabbed his finger and threatened to break it if he touched it.

"Oh, yeah," Mikey said with a little laugh. "He slipped backwards on the wet floor and went _BWAM!_ I think he could've broke the wall since he's so hard-headed all the time."

"SHUT UP, MIKEY!" Raph jumped to his feet and shoved his little brother violently to the ground, flat on his shell. Leo pulled Jo out of the way so she wouldn't get knocked over as well. Mikey sat up quickly and began to tear up, and so did Raphael.

Splinter came back in with an ice pack; he noticed Mikey on the floor crying and Raph standing over him. "My sons. What happened in here?!"

"He pushed me!" Mikey sobbed, pointing a shaky finger at his hot-headed brother.

Raph pointed an equally shaking finger at Michelangelo and shouted, "He called me 'hard-headed'!"

Yoshi held up a hand to silece them and turned to his three other children. "How did this start?"

Donatello stepped forward and explained the whole situation, "Well, we came in and Leo asked if Raphael was okay and he said' yeah'. And I said that his bump was a big mark and that he had to have hit it hard against the wall, and Raph threatened me he'd break my finger if I touched it, which of course I wouldn't. Then Mikey said he hit his head like 'bwam' and that Raph could've broke the wall since he was hard-headed, and then Raph got mad and told Mikey to shut up, then pushed him down."

Splinter nodded after listening to the story closely, then turned to the only children who hadn't spoke. "And Leonardo, Josephine, what is your opinion on this?"

"Why are you asking us?" Leo asked.

"Are they gonna get in trouble?" Joey said shyly.

Splinter lightly chuckled and bent down to their height. "Whether they get in trouble or not, my daughter, all depends on your and Leonardo's opinions." Joey nervously rocked on her heels; she didn't want to get her brothers in trouble if they were going to.

Leo took a step forward and said, "I think Raphael should control his bad temper, and Mikey should watch what he's saying. Raph wouldn't have gotten mad if Mikey didn't call him hard-headed, but Raph needs to learn to not take everything so seriously."

"I don't always take everything seriously!" Raph defended.

Splinter banged his staff on the ground, and Raph fell silent. "Thank you, Leonardo. And Josephine, unless you agree with your brother, what is your opinion about this?" He could see the distress on his daughter's face and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Josephine, just say what you think of what happened, just like Leonardo." Joey shifted her eyes from her father to her older brother, back and forth between them. Raph kept lowering his eyes and raising them at her; the way his eyes looked, Jo would've thought he was angry. She sniffled and shook her head quickly to her father, then turned on her heels and ran out of the room. "Josephine. Josephine, come back in here!" Before he could get to her, she had already disappeared. He sighed, rose to his feet, and walked over to Raphael, handing him the ice pack. "Hold it on your head until I say to remove it. I will be right back. Leonardo, report anything that happens." The young ninja nodded and Splinter headed out of the dojo towards his daughter's room. He knocked on her door but heard no response. Tired of waiting, he entered her room and found her curled up in a corner. "Josephine...are you all right?"

Joey briefly glanced at him then turned away. Splinter slowly approached her. "My child...what ails you?"

Joey sniffled and hiccuped, "I-It's not fair..."

"What isn't fair, little one?" he asked. Yoshi laid a hand on her shoulder and could feel it bobbing up and down. "Oh, my child." He hugged her tightly. "What is wrong? It hurts me to see you this upset."

Joey used her sleeve to wipe under her nose and told him, "I-It's not fair...t-to make me do that."

"Do what?"

"Choose between my brothers!"

"...Oh, Josephine." Splinter gently turned his daughter to face him. "I never intended to make you choose between your brothers as if they were being punished. I just wanted to hear what you thought of what happened, is all."

Joey shifted, trying to break free from her father's hold. "I-It's still not fair."

The rodent sadly smiled and kissed her forehead. "Josephine, I just want you to know I was never going to punish them in the first place." Joey then turned to him with wide, wet eyes. "I understand Raphael is already hurt and Michelangelo went a bit far with the name-calling, and I understand that Raphael needs to control his temper." Joey wiped her eyes and hiccuped. "Now, will you stop being sad now that you've heard this?" She slowly nodded with a sniffle and hugged Splinter tightly.

"She okay?" They both turned to see Raph in the doorway with the ice pack against his head.

"Yes, Raphael, your sister is all right. Just a little misunderstanding," Yoshi told him. "How is your head?"

Raph shrugged. "It's a little better, but my hand hurts."

"Why does your hand hurt?"

"Because this ice is freaking cold." Raph chuckled. Joey then broke free from her father's grip and hugged her brother tightly, burying her face in his plastron. He switched hands holding the ice pack and wrapped his free hand around her shoulders, and he laughed when she jumped at his cold touch.

Splinter smiled and led his two children out of Joey's room and back to the dojo. Leo and Donnie knelt beside Mikey, who appeared to have been crying the entire time. Raph lowered his gaze and approached his younger brother, sitting beside him. Mikey suddenly had a pair of arms wrapped around him. "I'm sorry, Mikey," Raph mumbled. The orange-clad turtle was stunned at first but then he smiled and hugged his older brother.

Leo and Donnie went to Master Splinter with confused looks. "Did you tell him to do that, Sensei?" Leo asked.

"No, my son," Yoshi said, shaking his head. "He did that all on his own." Leo and Donnie stared at their hot-headed brother with surprise, and Josephine giggled at the expressions on their faces. "Oh, I just remembered. We have a kitchen to clean." He called his sons to join him and they headed for the kitchen.

Most of the flung food was stained deep in the wall, and it smelled like a dumpster. The flour was stuck to the walls, syrup covered the floor, egg shells hardened and stuck to the cabinet doors, the floor, even the ceiling. The bacon was still cooking and the pan it sat in had smoke sprouting from the metal, and the bacon strips were cracking and popping. They were also shriveled, black rectangles. Splinter cleared his throat and said, "Well, let us get started."

He handed his children either a sponge or a soaked rag to clean with. Leo chose to clean the cabinets and the lower wall, Raph and Joey decided to do the floor, Donnie chose to clean the counter top, and Mikey sat on Splinter's shoulders as he cleaned the ceiling. Their father used a sponge to wipe away the flour and egg yolk. After an hour of intense scrubbing and washing, the Hamato family managed to leave the kitchen almost completely spotless. Yoshi then added a little air freshener of cherry blossom to rid the kitchen of the foul dried egg and flour smell.

The rodent then heard low rumbling coming from below him. He glanced downward to see his five children hugging their stomachs. He laughed and said, "I can see all that hard work getting the kitchen cleaned has you worked up an appetite." The little ones nodded. "Well, let us prepare for lunch. But this time, I will make it." The kids blushed as their father took out a pot, filled it with water, then placed it on the stove. "How does soup sound?"

"Yay!" Mikey cheered abruptly, earning himself a flick in the head from Raphael.

Yoshi chuckled as he stirred the boiling water. "Soup it is, then. What kind would you like?" The kids went in an argument over the flavors of beef or chicken, and Mikey suggested algae and worms. But eventually, chicken won out. The humanoid rat placed the noodles into the water and used the spoon to mash and separate them. After a few minutes when the noodles softened enough, he drained most of the water then added the chicken flavoring and stirred it with the noodles. When they and the remaining water were coated with the flavoring, Splinter poured an even amount of soup into six bowls and putting a pair of chopsticks in each one. He handed one to each of his children and helped them to the table, then sat in a chair.

The Hamato kids almost began eating immediately, dipping the tips of their chopsticks into the broth of the soup and swirling them around the noodles, hoping to get a good mouthful. While Splinter ate in his own way, he chuckled as he observed his children's eating habits: he watched Mikey slurp obnoxiously, Leo ate nearly as similar as himself, Donnie took up three-to-four noodles per mouthful and twirled them around the chopsticks, and checked them for any splinters. Joey was still learning how to use the chopsticks, but she was managing just by using them to scoop out the noodles rather than picking them up. However, when he got to Raphael, Yoshi noticed he was hardly eating at all, and he looked awfully tired.

"Raphael," he said. "Are you all right?" Instantly, the other siblings stopped what they were doing and focused on the red-banded turtle.

Raph nodded slowly. "I'm just not all that hungry, Sensei," he replied in a mumbled tone. He then realized his entire family was watching him, and it made him feel uncomfortable. "B-But I'm okay. See?" he took in another mouthful of noodles to prove his point; although his mind and stomach told him not to, he swallowed. Splinter only nodded with a faint smile and continued eating, as did his three sons and daughter, but they kept their gazes on their brother.

Despite his lack of hunger, Raph finished his entire bowl clean to show his family he really was all right and didn't need to worry. Yoshi took up his children's empty bowls and rinsed them in the sink. "I think we should all get out of the lair for a while. Would any of you like to go on a walk with me?"

"ME ME ME!" the four mutant turtles and human girl raised their hands and waved them around.

Splinter chuckled as he helped them down from the table and led them out of the lair and deep into the sewers. The sewers were flooded from the storm, and Splinter did not want a relapse of what had happened only a few years ago. Mikey wanted to ride on Splinter's back, Leo stuck close to his father's side, Donnie was instructed by Yoshi to keep Joey with him close to the wall of the tunnel, and Raph straggled. Every step he took, it's like his feet were cemented to the ground. His head pounded, everything was spinning, his stomach churned, and his body felt heavy; plus the sound of rushing water wasn't doing any help for his insane migraine. He wanted to tell someone, but he didn't want them to worry. Besides, he saw his siblings were having fun on their walk; he didn't want to ruin it just because he felt bad.

However, Splinter noticed his second-oldest child far behind. "Are you feeling all right, Raphael?!" he called to him.

Raph held a thumb's up. "Yeah," he shouted back to his father, "I'm okay!" He then picked up his pace and joined up beside Leo. He then bore a smile to try and play it off, but he knew his siblings, even Mikey, were not so easily fooled when it came to one another's health. Raphael noticed Leo constantly eying him and felt uneasy, and they both stopped and fell behind. "What? Why do ya keep lookin' at me like that?" he asked in a whisper.

"I know this is all for show. You're not okay," Leo said. "You look pale and weak."

Raph fumed at that last word. "I am not weak!" he hissed. "And I am fine. Quit worrying about me all the time." He then stormed off back towards their rat master, however Leo raced past him and joined alongside him once more. Raph huffed a breath of annoyance, and from exhaustion. His body suddenly felt heavier than before, as if something was dragging him down. He could feel his stomach bubbling, but he did his best to keep it down. He had difficulty keeping his eyes open, and he felt the blood in his face sink down to his legs. Everything blackened, he tripped over his own feet, and he fell forward then stumbled to the side, and he felt like he was falling forever. Then everything went cold.

Joey hadn't heard a word from her red-banded brother in a while and turned around-to find him not there. She gasped and cried, "DADDY!" then fought Donnie's grip and raced over to the edge of the tunnel. She carefully peered over and searched all over, and right out of the corner of her eye she saw a flash of red and green zoom through the water. "DADDY!" she wailed, "RAPHIE'S IN THE WATER!"

Splinter sat Michelangelo down and raced down the tunnel, searching for his missing son in the rapids. He then spotted Raph bobbing up and down briefly then was sucked back under. "Raphael!" he cried as he dove into the water after him.

"Father!" Leo hollered as they all knelt beside the edge of the rapids. A minute goes by and there's no sign of either of them. Mikey and Josephine began crying and clung to their brothers, Donatello looked away, and Leo stared in horror as large tears fell from his eyes.

They all heard gasping and coughing shortly after, and they looked up to see Splinter further down the tunnel on the opposite side, carrying something in his arms as he crawled over to the tunnel wall. "Father!" the three turtles and human girl shouted as they raced down the tunnel.

Splinter coughed and gasped, as well as what he held. He looked down to see his second-oldest child heaving in air and coughing up water, and he held his son close. "Oh, my boy," he said with a sob. "Are you all right?"

Raph shuddered before shaking his head. "N-No...I-I'm not...I...I don't feel-" he then fought his father's grip and crawled to the edge of the tunnel over the rapids as a taste of bile rose up in his throat. Then in one violent heave, he spilled his entire lunch, and the water he accidentally engulfed, into the floods, coughing and spitting anything left. He felt a tender hand patting him on his shell as tears started stinging his weary eyes. Raph sat on his knees and began to cry, burying his face into his hands. Splinter held his son close and slowly rocked side to side. "I-I...ache all over..." Raph wept. "A-And I...I-I just..."

"Hush, my son," Yoshi said gently as he lifted himself and Raphael off the ground. "You may explain what you have to say once we get you home. Now, hold on tight to me." Raph didn't even question why, he just clutched his father's fur and pressed close to his chest. Splinter got as close to the tunnel wall as he could, then ran towards the edge, leaped, and landed safely on the other side. Not long after he landed, Leo, Mikey, Donnie and Joey raced to him and clung to his legs, crying and sobbing. "There, there, my children. Your brother and I are all right. Now, I believe it is time we head home." They all nod in agreement and they trekked back to the lair.

Splinter told his children to sit on the couch in the living room, except for Donatello, as he took Raphael, who had fallen asleep along the way, into the dojo where it was quiet. He told Donnie to check Raph and see what could've caused collapse. After a brief inspection, Donnie said, "Well, I don't think it's because he's sick. He hit his head pretty hard earlier. I saw the bump on his head. I think he may have a bit of a concussion."

"Concussion?" Splinter repeated.

"Uh-huh," Donnie nodded. "Concussions usually cause dizziness, major headaches, nausea and vomiting, and many other symptoms. Right now, Raph just has the common ones. I think rest is all he really needs."

"I agree. Thank you for the assist, my son," Splinter said as he kissed Don's forehead. "You may go now." Donnie bowed and he raced out of the dojo. But the second he left, someone else entered. "Come in, Leonardo."

Leo sighed as he approached his father and ailing brother and knelt beside them. "Is he gonna be okay, Sensei?"

"Yes, my son," Yoshi replied. "Donatello believes he may have a minor concussion, and he just needs some rest. He'll be all right." Leo only nodded and pressed his lips together, and Splinter noticed tears forming in his eyes. "Oh, Leonardo," he said softly as he pulled his oldest child into his arms. The second they hugged Leo just began bawling.

"I-I thought he was gonna die...I-I thought...you were gonna die, too...!" Leo sobbed. "I-I didn't want either of you t-to go!"

Splinter smiled and rubbed Leonardo's head. "My son...I would never leave you alone. I know I have a family to provide for, and I must do what I can to keep you all safe. I would never let myself die and leave you three and your sister alone." Leo nodded with a sniffle as he hiccuped and wiped his eyes with his knuckles. Yoshi's ears then perked up as he heard someone else enter the dojo. He looked up to see his daughter standing in the doorway, holding something behind her back. "Come in, Josephine," he told her.

The little human slowly entered and knelt beside her sleeping brother and revealed what she hid behind her back: her old stuffed bear, the bear that was with Josephine in the box when Splinter found her. She carefully lifted one of his arms and placed her bear under it, then laid his arm on top of it. Yoshi smiled and patted his daughter's head. "That is awfully kind of you to share your bear with your brother, Josephine," he said.

Joey wiped her eyes and sniffled. "I just wanna make him feel better."

Splinter pulled her close and hugged her. "And he will get better, my child," he spoke softly. "He will." Donnie and Mikey both entered the lair together with a pillow and blanket; Mikey carefully lifted Raph's head and placed the pillow under it, and Donnie laid the blanket over his body. Splinter smiled warmly. "It fills my heart with joy to see you care so much for your brother. Raphael is lucky to have brothers and a sister like you."

"Well, he's also lucky to have a dad who can jump into zipping rapids and rescue him in one piece," Mikey pointed out, and everyone laughed.

Yoshi then noticed the sleepiness in his children's eyes, and he suggested they could all lay with Raphael if they wished. Of course they did. They all curled up around Raph's body and instantly fell asleep. Splinter dimmed the lights for them and left the room.

* * *

Raph woke up to something soft under his head and hands, and a room of darkness, but he was too sleepy to react. He noticed his head wasn't hurting as much, his stomach had settled, and nothing spun nor felt heavy. He did feel a bit claustrophobic and sat up to find his brothers and sister clustered around him. He was a bit confused; the last thing he remembered was falling asleep on their way home to the lair after...it happened. He realized he had a blanket tucked under him, his head was on a pillow, and he held a teddy in his arms. He stared from the bear to his sister then to his brothers. Did they do all this for him?

Raphael saw a sliver of light coming from the living area; he felt he needed to stretch his legs out anyway. He slowly stood up, draped the blanket over his shoulders, stepped over Mikey, who slept by his feet and began to head out. He remembered he still held the bear in his hands, and quickly yet quietly returned it to its owner.

Splinter was meditating in the living area, sitting on a quilt in the middle of a circle of scented candles, and his thoughts were disrupted when he heard the dojo door slide open. He opened his eyes and turned to see his second-oldest son approaching him. "Hello, my son," he said softly. "Are you feeling better?"

Raph nodded. "Yeah, a little," he said with a yawn. "What time is it?"

"It is nearly 10 p.m.," Yoshi informed him.

Raph widened his eyes in the candle light. "10 p.m.?! I've been asleep the entire time?" Splinter nodded. "W-What about my brothers and sister?"

"They slept with you, but not the entire time," Yoshi explained. "They didn't want to leave you for a second. I prepared them dinner and they ate around you. If they wanted to play, they would play any quiet game for your sake in the dojo. They wanted to sleep with you, so they knew you were all right if you ever awoke." He smiled and continued, "Your brothers and sister prepared you themselves. Michelangelo laid your head on the pillow, Donatello covered you with a blanket, Josephine shared her bear with you, and Leonardo made sure you were comfortable. It brought tears to my eyes to see them care so much for you."

It also brought tears to Raph's eyes; Raphael, the hot-head, the trouble-maker, the teaser, got all the tender loving care he could ever have from his three brothers and sister. Sure, he nearly died, but he never expected this much care from them. He prayed his father wouldn't notice his tears in the low light, but unfortunately he did. The rodent smiled and wiped them away. Splinter hugged him and whispered in his ear, "Like I told you before, you will always be loved. No matter what." Raph blinked and let his tears flow as he raised his arms and wrapped them around his father's neck.

They both turned around when they heard the dojo door sliding a bit more, and they saw Leo, Donnie, Mikey and Joey standing in the doorway. They were smiling the second they saw their brother awake, and Raph smiled back. He pulled away from his father and approached his siblings. He then wrapped his arms around them, pulling them close. They draped each others' arms in a circle and smiled.

"T-Thank you," he muffled. "...For everything..." His brothers and sister grinned and snuggled him.

"Raphael," Splinter said. "I remember you trying to tell me something in the sewers. What was it?"

"And why didn't you tell us something was wrong in the first place?" Leonardo asked.

Raph sighed and slowly pulled away from his siblings and explained, "I didn't want to say anything because I didn't want y'all to worry. I was going to say something after lunch," he turned towards his father, "you asked if we wanted to go on a walk, and they really wanted to. I thought that, if I didn't want to go because I knew I couldn't, then they wouldn't get to go. I didn't want to ruin it." He faced his siblings and continued, "And Leo, you were right. I wasn't okay. But you guys all looked like you were having fun, and I didn't want to take that away by saying I wasn't feeling all that well...That's why I was hiding it."

Splinter sighed and was ready to speak, but Leo stepped forward first and hugged his brother. "I wouldn't have cared. I would rather be at home taking care of you than go on some walk. Our lives are far more important to each other. Just...promise not to fake it next time."

Raph chuckled a bit and hugged his big brother back. "...I promise." He and Leo broke apart, and the second they did, Raph was nearly knocked over when his little sister ran to him and hugged him. "Hey, Princess," he said with a laugh and picked her up. Then his smile fell when he saw his sister's face damp with tears.

Joey clung to her brother and cried. "...I thought...you and Daddy were gonna die...I no want you to go," she whispered between sobs. "I dunno what I would do...I'm sorry."

Raph was a bit confused. "Why are you sorry?" Jo wanted to say why, but she couldn't expose the biggest secret she ever had, so she just nuzzled her brother and sniffled. Raphael sighed and hugged her. "...Also thanks for the bear," he said, and his smile returned when his sister's did. Then Mikey hugged Raph around his left side, Donnie hugged his right, and Leo hugged in front, right behind Joey.

Splinter smiled and draped his arms around all five of his children, his heart full of joy to see they care so deeply for each other. He saw them all becoming sleepy again and led them back into the dojo, and they laid back in their original spots with Raph in the middle, all of them falling into deep sleep with smiles on their faces.

Though Raphael was still a bit puzzled for why his baby sister was sorry, he didn't let it bother him now. He just wanted to sleep with the best siblings anyone could ever ask for.


End file.
